IRIS conjurers up a place between motion and picture, between light and sound, that shifts constantly between reality and make-believe, presenting an imaginary journey through the evolution of cinema – through optical effects and film genres, transposing into a language of dance and acrobatics all of cinema’s splendor, inventiveness and, above all, its sense of wonder. IRIS draws much of its inspiration from the golden age of Hollywood, sparked by Cirque’s performance at the 74th Academy Awards, held at the Kodak Theater on March 24, 2002 – more than a decade ago. That night, for five minutes, Cirque du Soleil was the focus of the awards ceremony. It took the company four months to create the special show seen that night, which featured eleven acts from some of their most popular productions at the time (Dralion, La Nouba, Quidam, Mystère, "O" and Alegría), all set to the electro-urban sound of the La Nouba soundtrack. It was so well received that it set Cirque’s creative wheels in motion. Thus by combining dance, acrobatics, live video, film footage and interactive projections, the show illustrates both the mechanics of cinema and its extraordinary power to deceive the eye. The result: a poetic phantasmagoria inspired by the world of cinema.